Ashes to Data
by Dolce Saito
Summary: It's the first time a human dies in the digital world. How will the tamers cope with this event while trying to deal with a new threat that is effectively exterminating thousands of creatures at a steady pace? Just how much are they willing to risk to save a world that is not theirs. A Ryoki centered fanfic.
1. Ch1 Part 1

**Chapter 1**

**Part 1**

_For everything there is a season,  
And a time for every matter under heaven…_

_(Ecclesiastes 3-1)_

* * *

The alarm had been triggered at 6 am in the morning, and it wasn't until 7 am after much consideration and thorough assessment of the situation that Yamaki had decided to call the tamers and inform them of the current happenings in the digital world. It had been a couple of weeks, really, since he and Riley, the more committed ones of the Hypnos research group, had noticed that something was off. They had decided to monitor the happenings until they made a decision on whether to make it known to the tamers. That decision had been made the 22nd of December at dawn. During the night 79 villages alone in the digital world and hundreds of digimon had vanished. Riley stared grimly at the monitors in front of her before looking back silently at her boss, the number of destroyed villages and slaughtered digimon over the past two weeks had just reached the four digits. They could no longer remain observant; something was deleting little by little all life in the digital realm. Nodding in understanding Yamaki moved to his own work station. He would have a flock of angry parents on his headquarters sooner than later but promises needed to be kept.

Some years ago an agreement had been made between Hypnos and the children, now almost young adults: there would be _no_ human interference in any matter regarding the digimon as long as it did not affect both worlds; and even though this, technically, had no evident repercussions in the human world, it could mean the end of the digital universe. It was certainly not to be taken lightly or ignored.

* * *

Early the next day most of them were reunited at Hypnos, including Ryo, who got to Shinjuku the same day he received the call despite his father's protests. In the end he had been forced to sneak out of his house and leave a note behind. He realized, with some regret, that this would bring back some issues he and his father had been trying to resolve.

"It had to be a matter of life and death for us to finally see you again, Ryo. Man, I can't believe we're together again, we missed you so much." Hirokazu beamed at the cerulean eyed and swung his arm around his shoulders pulling him into a friendly one armed hug.

Rika gave the enthusiastic teenager an icy look and catching Ryo's eye turned her head away disdainfully "Speak for yourself, visor boy."

Hirokazu opened his mouth to defend his hero's stand and to remind her that he no longer wore a visor but a hat, a respectable black and green stripped baseball hat, a 17-year-old couldn't be seen wearing a visor anymore, that would be ridiculous. He was about to make his first argument but Kenta spoke first. "Oh, that's right; you two have actuallybeen _seeing_ each other."

Rika turned to face him and had him gulping and regretting the sudden slip. "What?" she asked the green eyed in a steely tone "We certainly have not. The last time we saw each other was at that annual reunion months ago and you were all there."

Hirokazu turned to look at Ryo for confirmation but he looked away as if he weren't really paying attention.

Takato spoke out. "Have you two really been seeing each other? How long has this been going on?"

Jeri choked out a giggle and Takato turned to her "You knew!" and narrowing his eyes he turned to Kenta "And you too!"

"Jeri!" Rika snapped at her and the brunette pursed her lips.

"I didn't tell anybody, I swear. I have no idea how Kenta found out!"

The young man cast his eyes to the ceiling. He had once, not so accidentally, eavesdropped on a conversation between Jeri and Rika, sadly he still hadn't gotten all of the details.

"So it's true." Henry said looking at Rika in disbelief. Who would have thought? She always made a show of having a passionate hate for the guts of Ryo Akiyama, whenever he was brought up in conversation she would huff and try to change the topic almost instantly. Perhaps they had all been reading those signs of annoyance the wrong way.

The auburn haired shook her head furiously, her ears suddenly felt like they were burning. "I-it's not true…I mean fine, we've seen each other after that, but—"

"So are you…uh, dating?" Takato asked bluntly.

Hirokazu let go of Ryo as if he had caught on fire "No, this can't be true. You couldn't possibly have fallen for that… that…"

Ryo arched a brow, silently daring him to finish his sentence.

"Hirokazu…" Henry began in a warning tone, Rika looked flustered enough and Ryo was strangely quiet.

"Why couldn't you just tell us?" Takato muttered, the disappointment in his voice quite evident. Jeri moved her hand to his back and patted it affectionately before looking back at Rika and mouthing a_ sorry_.

"So how did it happen?" asked Kenta.

"_Dude,_ don't ask them _that_." Hirokazu actually looked a little bit ill by now and staggered to a wall to lean his head against it. Henry rolled his eyes at his dramatic display of inconformity.

Rika whipped a glare towards the green haired. Since when had he become so outspoken? She managed to squeeze a half hearted _never mind _out of him before an uncomfortable quietness settled in the room.

After what felt like an eternity of extremely awkward silence Yamaki called to them from the door. "Rob McCoy should be here shortly and then we'll bring you all up to date. Ten minutes, conference room three." Unaware of the tense atmosphere hanging in the group and the pleading stares for him to stay, he turned and left before anyone had a chance to say anything.

Silence again, until…

"But really, guys…" Kenta began, testing his luck one too many times by Rika's estimate. She clenched a fist and opened her mouth just as Jeri jumped in to play referee and try to settle things. Unfortunately for her Takato soon joined his friend in his bout of questioning while Hirokazu spiraled down into a pit of denial and started mumbling, mostly to himself and a sighing Henry, that it couldn't be true and all was a nightmare he would soon wake up from. After a while, tired of trying to effectively shut everyone up for good to no avail Rika turned to Ryo. He was standing to the side and looking seemingly unaffected by everyone's outburst.

"Goddamnit, Ryo, why aren't you saying anything?" She finally spat out.

She might as well have tried that from the start as everyone stopped in the middle of their respective arguments and turned to her.

Ryo looked at her and his lips curved into a sly smile.

A long drawn out _No _emerged from Hirokazu's gaping mouth.

"I guess that's that; it's confirmed." Henry said.

"What are you talking about? I haven't confirmed a damn thing," Rika wanted to step over and slap Henry for trying to be a smartass.

"Rika you just used his first name instead of calling him Akiyama or some insulting/sarcastic nickname." Jeri stated softly. It had been a while, and she had to give it to Rika and Ryo for not slipping on their past reunions with the rest of them, but after more than two years, it was obvious their act wouldn't last much longer.

Rika was rendered speechless and just stared at the brunette before her expression settled into helpless mortification, probably not as evident as Hirokazu's, but bad enough that she finally turned and walked out of the room.

"To be fair, the nicknames are still there, it's just the context and tone that have changed." Ryo put in.

Henry cleared his throat and Hirokazu's jaw dropped.

"I'll bring her back." The blue eyed finally said, and patting Hirokazu's head on the way out flashed everyone else a smile.

_Oh yes, they were absolutely dating. _Takato grinned.

Ryo found Rika pacing the corridor outside, her phone to her ear "I can't tell you for sure, mom. Mhm…I know. I am sorry but if it comes to it I'm going anyway." She turned back and caught sight of Ryo, waiting patiently for her to finish her conversation. She rolled her eyes at him and he nodded in understanding.

"Mom, you and I knew it wouldn't be the last time." She sighed and he noticed how she suddenly tensed and immediately stopped walking "Well sure, fine, if you want to come and try to stop me then that's your time wasted, but in the end I'll find a way to—Oh, hi grandma… could you please tell—yes—I _was_ calm grandma…"

Ryo kept a sober expression. Rika's relationship with her mom had certainly improved over the years but not without the help and constant interference of Seiko, Rika's grandmother. At least Rika had agreed, after much insistence of her mother, to carry a cell phone around and to not just hang up whenever the young model got on her nerves. She was doing her best to keep things amicable but her and her mother's temper tended to just clash naturally.

"Uh…yeah sure, I will call her when a decision's been made. Thank you, grandma. Bye."

"God, you do suck at lying." Half amused he saw her turn to him as if suddenly irritated by his presence.

"I did not lie. She _will be_ informed of whatever is decided today."

"That's an interesting choice of words. This, just to be clear, means Yamaki will end up calling her if we have to leave today and you'll pretend you just had too much going on and forgot."

Rika hated that he could—no, that he _was allowed _to call her on it. Stupid relationships giving people the right to meddle in your personal business. But then again, she had also given him grief for not confronting his dad before he got here.

"Like you're the one to talk. And what was that a while ago with the rest? If I suck at lying then I don't even know what to call what you did in there…you might as well have told them we've been..." she winced at the word "_dating_ for over two years now."

It was a damn good record, Ryo thought, not to mention they had already been keeping in touch after the D-Reaper incident and that had been a while before they even decided to give their relationship a status or a name. After all, since they had kept it in secret from mostly everyone, formalities had not been something they had bothered with. Finally, Rika had decided to make an exception with Jeri, (mostly because Jeri had begun to suspect something and she would sooner than later give Rika the third degree) Ryo had to agree it seemed more dangerous _not _to tell the brunette.

"I didn't say a word."

"Exactly!" Rika exclaimed stabbing her finger to his chest. "It was like you were silently agreeing with everything they said."

"You're the one who made me promise to stay silent and I quote _Ryo Akiyama, you will not say a word about our current relationship, not to anyone in the group, not even Takato, and especially not to that duo of idiots Hirokazu and Kenta or so help me God you will wake up one day in a dark alley with marks on your body so bizarre and deep you'll still have them years from now and just looking at them will make you wince at the memory. Not to mention that I will be dumping your ass in that instant. I'm serious hotshot, after I'm done with you, you will never hear from me again._

"Huh, you were actually paying attention. Good." Rika seemed suddenly satisfied.

"I just couldn't risk the consequences." He smiled.

"That scared of physical confrontation, huh? That's very wise of you."

He laughed and shook his head, "Physical confrontation between a couple could lead to very interesting scenarios, I wouldn't mind us giving it a shot someday. The latter of your threats, however, I can't help but take more seriously. I'm just not sure how I could deal with the prospect of not seeing you again."

Rika blinked at him, not quite sure which of both statements had color rising to her cheeks, and then, catching his smug smile, she forced a frown to her face "Don't be a smartass, Akiyama."

"Oh there it is, you should have used my last name a couple of minutes ago and you could go on pretending to hate me in front of the rest." He watched her expression fall once again. "For what it's worth, it was very entertaining to see you trying to handle it."

"Oh, go to hell."

She looked away but he could see the humor in her eyes now and offered her a hand "I think it's time to go back."

Rika eyed his subtle offer as if it were a bear trap "And you think that because they know about us now we're walking back in together hand in hand?"

He stared at her for a couple of seconds before sighing in defeat and shoving his hand inside the lower front pocket of his black jacket "No, of course not. What am I thinking by wanting to hold my girlfriend's hand in front of my friends? I'm sorry; sometimes I don't know where I get these crazy ideas from."

Rika ignored his sarcasm and walked past him. "Just don't let it happen again."

* * *

The general mood of the audience in one of Hypnos' conference rooms had become somber within the first five minutes of Yamaki's report. He presented charts, diagrams and along with Riley explained to them how they usually kept track of the villages and hotspots for certain digimon and how some of them had disappeared overnight. Yamaki proceeded pointing to numbers and maps as he spoke in a detached manner; but he knew the young faces in front of him were seeing and listening to something else. Those weren't just ciphers he was delivering to them but what they all knew to be actual feeling creatures; creatures as sentient as their loyal partners who were now waiting in another room of the Hypnos facility.

"Whether the cause of this is a digimon or a program like the D-Reaper we haven't been able to find out. It doesn't show in the radar and no matter how closely a spot is being monitored all life and settlements could and have vanished without much warning." He stopped his pacing, scanned the contemplative faces of his audience and settled his stare on Takato's, "I didn't call you here expecting you to fix this. I just wanted to honor our agreement."

Takato nodded and felt obliged to ask, "Have any of these happenings reflected on our world?"

Yamaki shook his head. "Not so far. There haven't been any peculiar incidents in the real world in the past few weeks that stand out or could be connected to this event."

"But there's no saying there won't be any." Rob McCoy, Alice's grandfather, stood up. "If this is anything like the D-reaper it will definitely find a way to the real world."

Jeri's eyes widened for a moment. The memories of the time the chaos had reigned over their city, fueled by her fears and sadness, came down on her as a bucket of cold water, paralyzing her. She knew she would never completely forgive herself for what her friends had gone through and for the part she'd taken in it, but she didn't know that she would still be so terrified of it. She heard Henry's dad speak out but the sound was muffled now by the resonance of her heart pounding in her chest in a panic, and as she struggled for calm, she felt something warm cover the fist she had clenched around the fabric of her dress under the table. It was Takato's hand, he wasn't looking at her, his stare was set on Henry's dad as he spoke.

"We can't just stay here waiting for it to attack."

She turned her hand and gripped Takato's softly in response to his gesture. It was all right, she was never alone. He had never deserted her and neither had her friends. She looked up to the others, realizing with some relief that, although Rika had briefly looked in her direction with some concern, none of them had actually noticed her loss of balance. She offered her friend a smile of gratitude and tried to focus on the discussion again.

"When and _if _it turns into a problem here, we'll find a way to deal with it, there's no need for you to go back."

Janyu Wong was against the idea of them becoming involved again, after all, two of his children were tamers and he wasn't too happy with the possibility of having to send them off again to the digital world to face some unknown threat that for all they knew could be worse than the D-Reaper itself. He had somehow pulled through the insanity of last time, being forced to just observe and wait. He definitely did not want to go through that again.

"We owe it to our digimon. They helped us save our world. The least we could do is help them protect theirs as well."

"Takato is right, dad." Henry said and Janyu locked his eyes on his son's calm grey ones. "I am sorry, but we can't just wait and see."

"Do you really want to get your sister involved in all of this again?" Janyu hadn't raised his voice but the look on Henry's face was the same as if he had.

"Suzie won't be coming." He answered firmly.

"Henry, if we open that portal and send you all back it could suck your sister in no matter where she is. Much like last time."

"That portal may open regardless. If it's their mission to go, there's nothing that will stop the digital world from transporting them back."

Janyu looked at Rob McCoy, his usual calm demeanor almost completely gone. Before he could stop himself, the thoughts cruising through his mind turned into bitter words. "It's not their mission to go missing like your granddaughter."

Both men's eyes widened, both almost equally shocked at what had been said. Rob clenched a fist and stood up.

"Dad!" To everyone's surprise Henry raised his voice, standing up too, he stared at his father with evident reproach.

Alice McCoy had disappeared immediately after she took Dobermon to help them biomerge during the battle with the D-Reaper. They didn't gather much information about her from their brief interaction, only that she and Dobermon had been sent on a mission by the Sovereigns to help them defeat both worlds' common threat at the time. As far they knew she wasn't a tamer. Dobermon had seemed to be her only companion but not her partner; he had been, after all, just a vessel. The Alice McCoy they had met looked utterly lonely and disconnected from the real world. Not at all like the smiling girl in the portrait that Rob carried around.

At the time none of them knew of the kinship between the blonde girl and the professor, of her disappearance, and of his failed attempts over the years to contact her. In the end they didn't know if by mentioning her to the team at Hypnos had brought new hope for the man or if it had only reopened the wound and made it more painful. But they definitely acknowledged the sensitivity of the matter. Unlike Ryo, Alice hadn't gone willingly to the digital world; it had been Rob himself, during one of his experiments, who had accidentally sent her away. It was hard to imagine how anyone could live with such guilt.

"I apologize, Rob. I shouldn't have said that."

"Yeah, you shouldn't have." The man adjusted his glasses and looked at Yamaki's data still on display and after a moment looked down at the notes in his hands. "I realize now that I really have no say in what you decide here. But I'm willing to help you make the trip to the digital world as safe as I can, should you decide to go. Excuse me."

Henry saw the man leave, his back rigid and his head high, nothing in his posture deceived his struggle for composure but the slight clenching of his jaw as he exited the room. The blue haired felt a pang of guilt. None of them had given the girl much thought after they had received her help. They had been too focused on the battle, on themselves. If at least one of them had followed her that day they would have perhaps been able to alleviate the professor's suffering.

Ryo stared at the door long after the man had left, he hadn't met this girl they were all talking about but knew from previous conversations and meetings that without her help they probably wouldn't have been able to defeat the D-Reaper. He wondered if he and this girl had ever, unknowingly, been in the same area at the same time while in the digital world. It wasn't easy being in a world that could often turn hostile and was in essence primitive. If she, in fact, did not have a partner, he found it hard to believe she could still be alive.

Yamaki cleared his throat, effectively breaking the tension lingering in the room. Henry sat down again, averting his eyes from his dad's apologetic stare.

"Take your time to think this through." Riley said softly.

"No." Takato looked around, assessing his friends' expressions. "This can't wait anymore, we are going. We are all reunited, so the sooner the better."

The rest of the group nodded in unison. Janyu's expression turned pleading, his eyes fixed on his son's face, but Henry wasn't looking at him anymore. The group got up and started leaving the room to make calls and inform their partners.

Rika hadn't risen from her seat and stared as Jeri and Takato left the room hand in hand. She wondered if it would be a good idea to talk to Jeri in private before leaving. Never mind that it would give her a decent excuse to avoid the call home.

"He's got it. She'll be okay."

She almost jumped up from her chair and looked back at Ryo, towering over her. Her eyes narrowed. "I don't know what you're talking about." And damn it, she wished she actually didn't. She hadn't decided whether it amazed her or freaked her out the way he seemed to easily read her mind.

He simply stared at her for a moment before shaking his head. "There's no way you can stall long enough to avoid making the call."

Never mind, it was decided. It freaked _the hell _out of her.

"What? I wasn't—it's insulting how you would believe I—Shut up."

His brow raised, a half amused smile tugging at the corners of his lips.

She gritted her teeth. "Don't act all patronizing with me. If I make that call then you will make it too."

The smile on his face vanished instantly and it made her feel significantly better.

"I already left a note. A call won't make any difference with my dad, if anything it will only get me yelled at." Ryo defended, but his stare implored to be spared the bad moment.

"No, don't give me the puppy eyes; you're too old for that." And damn if they didn't work if you stared back long enough. "If I have to call my mom then you have to call your dad." She let out a long dramatic sigh "But I guess, if you _really _don't want to call him, then we could both spare ourselves the unnecessary formalities and just, I don't know, pretend the calls didn't go through."

"You're terrible, Rika."

She grinned but it didn't last long as he reached for the phone in his pocket and slid it open. "We're doing this. And don't ask your grandmother to tell her for you. That's cheating."

**011101010101010101011101**

Okay, that's the first part of a very long first chapter. Some of you will recognize this fanfic (that is if you are a hardcore Ryoki fan and are still around after 7 years or so from the first time I published this story under the very absurd title of 'Before death continues', okay, say what? Don't ask. The title before that was even worse. Yes, it is possible.) , and so you'll know I've been modifying it for a very, very long time. This fic has been my precious baby for years. I won't promise I won't do any modifications to this entry later on. I have a problem. I'm just trying to improve, and believe me when I tell you it's been a long way from the first draft of this story (I don't know how people could read it and still leave nice reviews) to this (still not great but much better than before). Anyhow, Ryoki is my illness and I want to help spread it, maybe this time I'll finish the story*fingers crossed*. Needless to say titles and summaries are still not my thing.

Anyway, it's nice to be actively back.

Dolce S.


	2. Ch1 Part 2

Having Hypnos as unofficial headquarters had some advantages and disadvantages. Among the advantages was the privacy the building offered the tamers and their partners. Even though the existence of digimon was no longer a secret and in fact very well known around the world, some people still pointed an accusing finger at them, blaming them for the misfortune that had fallen on the city years ago. Others, in contrast, couldn't see them without demanding for some pictures. So the tamers knew better than to expose their digimon to the public eye unless it really couldn't be helped. Hypnos was proving to be a great place to get together and stop worrying about hiding, the thing was, although there was enough room for them and their partners, Hypnos hadn't conditioned the place to the antics of a bunch of hyper creatures, eager to play with each other whenever they got the chance to be together.

"Guilmon!" Takato grabbed the red dinosaur by the tail, attempting to stop him from running any further but being easily overpowered in his try.

Most of the tamers were already gathered in one of Hypnos' biggest rooms, despite its proportions it still seemed much too crowded due to their partner's presence. Guilmon, Monodramon and Terriermon chased each other around not listening to Takato's orders to slow down and watch their steps. Guardromon stood precariously in a corner, trying not to move too much and break or dent anything. Marinangemon was perched on Kenta's shoulder and Calumon sat on Jeri's lap jumping excitedly every time Takato or the other three digimon passed by. Renamon stood silently a couple of feet away from Rika, staring at the other digimon coolly and shaking her head now and then.

"Watch out!"

Rika turned at Takato's call just in time to jump back as Monodramon clumsily ran by her, she glared at the rookie and was about to open her mouth to reprimand him when Guilmon charged forward, almost knocking her off balance. Renamon quickly appeared by her side, offering her an arm for support and narrowing her fox like eyes at the oblivious digimon in a withering stare.

"Monodramon, stop it already." Ryo ordered, entering the room and shoving his phone in his pocket. He sighed as the purple dragon kept running, deaf to his command.

"I'm sorry, Rika. Guilmon, you're going to break something!" Takato ran once again after the red dinosaur.

The auburn haired lifted her face and looked down at the digimon much like Renamon had been doing. "Seriously, after all these years I can't believe you people didn't take a moment to discipline them."

"It's not that easy." Ryo said moving to her side. "You just got lucky with Renamon."

"Don't make excuses for your incompetence." She turned her face away, making a show of being pissed off at him.

Ryo rolled his eyes and, just as Monodramon squealed his way through his fifth lap around the room, reached out to grab him by the skin of his neck, lifting the squirming rookie up to face him. "I said _stop_."

Rika eyed him as he turned and set his digimon down on a chair. His eyes remained cool on Monodramon's as the small digimon pouted up at him. Guilmon stopped for a second to stare at his now grounded friend and turned to Terriermon who just shrugged and started to run again.

"That's a start." Rika muttered.

"Monodramon's hyperactivity is not the reason you're pretending to be mad at me though." He stood next to her and stared as Takato finally managed to grab a hold of Guilmon and started reprimanding him even when it was obvious the dinosaur's attention was on Terriermon as he pulled faces behind the brown haired's back. Jeri giggled and walked up to them, finally deciding to give her boyfriend some help.

"Your call couldn't have been worse than mine, Rika." He said, slightly irritated by his own conversation with his dad.

The older Akiyama had only seemed to grow more aggravated by the call, threatening, much as Rika's mother had done, granted with less tact, to come down to Hypnos and get his son's butt home. Although Ryo was already nineteen years of age and going through college, his father insisted on keeping a strict discipline on him.

One more year, Ryo thought, and he would be legally an adult. He wished more than anything to come to terms with his father, but he found that impossible to do as long as his dad had the last word. Yoshiro Akiyama was a good man but too obstinate, since Ryo's mother had died he had become afraid, to the point of paranoia, of the possibility of losing his son as well.

Rika crossed her arms stubbornly "You couldn't possibly know how my call went."

"I was too busy getting my ear yelled off, but I did catch up the last part of your conversation." His tone softened "I'm very proud of you."

She looked at him quizzically and swallowed hard, he couldn't have possibly heard her, they had been standing several feet away from each other and she had made sure to lower her voice. No, no, _no_. God, no. That's why she had tried to cut her conversation short. She hadn't meant to say it. It was stupid, it wasn't a big deal. But no, leave it to Ryo to make it look like she had just climbed Mount Everest. So he had heard her say I _love you_ to her mom, big fucking deal. That's what she got for giving in and playing along with the sentimental foolishness her mother and a bunch of other people were so fond of. She usually meant what she said but more often than not, when it came to opening up to a loved one, she didn't mean to actually say it, like out loud. She found no reason to be saying such obvious things to the people she clearly cared about.

"Maybe this means I'm one step closer to hearing it myself." He continued and smiled at her.

She gulped back a cry of embarrassment as she looked around; making sure nobody else had heard him. "I wouldn't hold my breath if I were you." She averted her eyes again "You heard me say that only because I knew it would calm her down, that's the only reason I would ever—"

"Fine," He interrupted "Forget it." Rika had this annoying habit of undermining her own gestures. She had grown a lot emotionally in the past few years but she remained reluctant to give herself some credit. It had become a pet peeve of his in their relationship. She would make progress on something and then completely dismiss it as if it had been a slip, something completely unintentional and perhaps, knowing her, it sometimes was; what she didn't seem to realize was that it is a good thing, those _slips _were nothing to be embarrassed or ashamed of. He wanted her to be conscious of her emotional growth and take some pride in it but she kept refusing to do so and it frustrated him to no end. She needed to realize she had as much right as any other to display her affection towards her close ones. But she was too stubborn or too afraid to do it. Personally, he was terrified that it was the latter.

Rika bit on her lip as he turned slightly away, she hated when he used that tone, making her feel patronized. But she had to admit she hated even more the disappointed look on his face, as if she had suddenly failed him. Well, he should know better. Damn, she knew he did. If he thought that she didn't care about him or anyone else for that matter just because she wasn't constantly whispering sweet nothings to his ear and skipping around proclaiming her love for everyone then she was even more disappointed in him. He had to know she lo—cared about him, right? After all these years he damn well should. Why did she have to say it out loud? Why couldn't they completely skip the awkward part? Why did she have to make herself vulnerable for it to be official? Well she had reasons to not give in, damn good ones at that, and he would just have to suck it up if he wanted them to be together. She cleared her throat and turned towards him but just before she said anything the door of the room opened abruptly.

"Suzie, come back here!"

The youngest of the Wong family ran inside with Lopmon close behind, the brown bunny-like digimon sported a mortified look as always. After a few seconds Henry and his father marched in. Henry looked vexed while Janyu seemed to have aged a century in the last hour.

"You are not going." Henry declared. "So don't even think of making a tantrum in front of the others. Go back home, now."

"I'm twelve, I don't need to make tantrums." Suzie Wong turned towards her brother and spoke decisively. "And you are not my dad, Henry."

"But I am." Janyu found his voice and looked down at his daughter, she no longer wore her hair in cute tiny pigtails, instead, it hung down freely under the pink winter hat she hadn't bothered to take off when she entered the building. She was growing fast, leaving her characteristically whiny baby voice behind a long time ago. She spoke with unfaltering resolve now, no longer afraid if her older brother snapped at her.

Suzie stared up at her father; she was already settled on following her brother's footsteps, on fighting along if needed and this time determined to not just stay on the sidelines. This time she would help. They had tried to keep her in the dark about the reunion but her D-arc had indirectly warned her to it, beeping insistently even before she realized Henry and her dad had left the house. Well, she was a tamer, they could only hide so much from her and she wasn't a baby anymore. She wanted to prove herself to them.

"Suzie, you will stay. You don't need to go to the digital world to help. We can both help them from here. Now come."

Suzie stepped back as her father approached her "Why? Why should I stay when the rest are going?"

Janyu Wong rubbed at the back of his neck "Makoto and Ai aren't going. It's not an obligation."

"Maybe because you didn't tell them; maybe because they are afraid. But that's not the case with me. I'm a tamer too. I have a digimon, I have Lopmon. My D-arc is telling me to go." She pulled it out of her pocket to demonstrate and they saw the light on the screen, fading in and out. Silently urging all of them to take action.

"You're a kid, and this is not a game." Henry said, growing frustrated.

"You were my age when you went for the first time." Suzie answered quickly, effectively silencing him.

"_Touché" _Kenta murmured and was nudged by Takato, who shook his head slightly at him.

Henry could see her point. But it was his little sister. He ran a hand through his hair, obviously exasperated. He didn't want her there, he could still remember the various times he had feared for her back then. The fact that she was older didn't change how responsible and protective of her he still felt.

He turned to his father. Inciting him to do something, say something, but Janyu seemed to be at a loss. Suzie was making her case, he could tell her to stay but not give her a good enough reason to do so. Not when he had allowed Henry, in a manner of speaking, to do the same thing years ago.

Lopmon gulped, staying by her tamer's side but sending apologetic glances at Henry and his dad. She felt guilty. If her tamer needed to go to the digital world it was because of her.

Suzie continued to make her point, seeing as Henry didn't back down. She walked over to Ryo, the person who had given her her first card, who had treated her like a tamer and not a useless child "Ryo, didn't you live in the digiworld for a year? How old were you?"

Rika grinned as Ryo shifted uncomfortably; the kid was on a roll.

Henry gritted his teeth "Suzie you can't possibly compare your situation with-"

"Not much older than I am, were you?"

Ryo rubbed his temple with his index finger and smiled patiently down at her "I'm not sure you should take me as an example. What I did could have gotten me killed. I was just very lucky;"

"Indeed you were."

He decided to ignore Rika's comment and continued to address the girl before him, eyeing Henry cautiously "You are right, Suzie. We were all young when we went to the digital world and you are a tamer too, but perhaps, this time, let us assess the situation first. We have not had an alarm like this since the chaos started invading the city, we may need some help here in the real world."

Suzie's eyes darted to her brother, considering. "Why isn't anyone else staying then?"

"I…I am." Jeri offered, realizing a scapegoat was needed. She was just taking care of Calumon anyway. She wasn't a tamer anymore and able to fight. The only reason she wanted to go was to stay by Takato's side and to avoid being left in the dark about her friends' wellbeing. But she could do this for Henry, for them. She would just have to sit tight and hope they stayed safe.

Takato looked at her, surprised, he seemed about to object but ultimately remained silent. Maybe Jeri staying behind wasn't such a bad idea. He wanted her with him, but it was a selfish wish, he realized. He would hate to put her in danger, especially now that she didn't have a digimon to take care of her and if something like the chaos was reappearing then the last thing he wanted was for her to be nearby. He wouldn't have her exposed to something like that again, even more so knowing how afraid she still remained of it.

The mauve eyed pursed her lips as she stared at Jeri "But you aren't a tamer anymore, so—"

"Suzie, it's enough." Nodding at Jeri in a gesture of gratitude, Henry signaled his father. "We've lost enough time discussing this." He declared, before Suzie could start another argument.

"I'll let Yamaki and the rest know you are ready." Janyu led Suzie out of the room and Lopmon ran after them, bowing respectfully before leaving the place.

"I guess I'm staying then." Jeri smiled half heartedly and handed Calumon over to Rika.

"Are you sure?"

Calumon pouted in Rika's arms as Jeri nodded and patted his head "Take care, alright?"

"I'm so sorry Jeri," Henry walked over, looking contrite "Takato."

Jeri shook her head and grabbed Takato's hand, gripping it reassuringly even as she addressed Henry "It's fine, I wouldn't be of much use to you guys anyway. At least, this way, I can keep Suzie out of trouble for you."

"I really appreciate it."

"Moumantai!" Terriermon climbed up Henry's back until reaching his head where he perched himself and wrapped his longs ears around his tamer's face.

"Are you sure you're fine with this?" Takato finally asked.

Jeri lifted a hand to his face and gave him a quick peck on the lips. "Not one hundred percent, no. I really wanted to go and be by your side. I will be worrying, a lot. So at least promise me you will keep in touch through Yamaki."

Takato smiled, not caring for the mocking reenactment of the moment that Hirokazu and Kenta were playing out in the background. "Of course. I'll miss you, Jeri, terribly; but I have to admit I feel relieved knowing you'll be here, safe and away from whatever threat it is that we might be facing. I guess I'll have to thank Suzie for that." He piped at Henry who only shook his head.

Jeri looked moved by his concern, as if it were something new to her "Oh Takato, I—"

"Stop," Rika ordered, interrupting Jeri, "give me a head start to the door before you commence what I'm sure will be a very moving speech; I'm just afraid I might start puking rainbows." She set Calumon down "You can stay and listen if you want, little guy."

Jeri giggled and letting go of Takato took Rika's hands in hers. "You're my best friend and I love you, please take care. All of you." She added, looking over Rika's shoulder at Ryo and the rest. "If things seem too much to handle then just come back. We'll figure something out here."

"Do we look like cowards to you?" The auburn haired snorted, but smiled warmly at the brunette.

Ryo looked on, a little bit jealous, he had to admit, of how easily Jeri seemed to disarm Rika, bringing out her soft side with minimal effort. The Rika he was regarding at that very moment didn't much care for what others might think as she smiled with sincere affection at the smaller girl while letting her hold her hands for a much longer amount of time than she had ever let him hold just one of hers. If things continued this way he might just start harboring feelings of rivalry towards Jeri. For now, he thought with a smile, he would just admire the sight.

"Seems we have about ten minutes before leaving," Henry announced as he looked down at a small tablet "let's get going, they'll open the portal on the esplanade at the back of the building, it should be discreet enough."

Takato nodded and started herding the digimon out of the room with Hirokazu and Kenta's help, Jeri walked behind him, stopping at the entrance to look back when she realized Ryo and Rika weren't following.

Rika had her hand around Ryo's wrist, letting go quickly when Jeri turned "We'll be right behind you, just give us a minute."

Hirokazu nudged Jeri aside from the doorway and sent Rika a dirty look.

"What?" she snapped at him.

"We just have nine minutes, there's no time for… _this._"

Before Rika could walk over and break his neck for the implication, Jeri started shoving him out of sight "Come on, Kazu, don't be a jealous wife."

Rika's eye twitched and she shook her head as both of them disappeared and Kazu's loud protests became faint down the hall. "Just what the hell is wrong with him?"

"I'm sure an entire week wouldn't be enough time to discuss that. So—"

"I think it's time you start considering Hirokazu's boy-crush on you might be something to take seriously; and you know, uh, do something about it."

"Do you want me to ask him out on a date?"

She turned to him, frowning at his tone and trying not to wince at the idea "No. What's the matter with you?"

"I'm sorry, I just don't know any more if you're joking or if you actually pulled me back because you want to discuss Hirokazu's unsettling fixation with me."

He sounded mildly irritated and she had to admit she was being a coward and Hirokazu had just provided her with an excuse to put off what she wanted—no—what she _needed_ to say "I don't."

"Good. What did you want to tell me then?"

"First of all stop acting like you're my mom and I'm about to get grounded."

His brows rose at this, before noticing his body language made it look like he was ready for a spat. He hadn't realized in which moment he had become frustrated at her. Perhaps some things were piling up in his subconscious. Sighing, he uncrossed his arms and shoved his hands in his pockets, relaxing visibly.

"Well, I just wanted to make something clear to you." She said after a moment, her tone was rigid despite the blush on her cheeks and the awkward frown across her face.

"Did you, now?"

"I don't want you making up stories in your head and believing things that are not true. You made me realize it's partly my fault, so I'll make you a favor…"

He tensed instantly, visibly, and Rika realized how she had just made that sound.

"No, it's not that. God, see? That's what I'm talking about."

He almost sighed in relief and had to run a hand through his hair "Well damnit, Rika. Just say it then."

She fidgeted with the hem of her coat and shifted in her place even as her stare bore on his, he would have found it endearing if his nerves weren't already a wreck "Ryo, I-I like you, very much, you know that."

He blinked, not entirely sure of how he was supposed to react. They were dating, he liked to think that was a given.

"Well, as your boyfriend, I certainly hope so."

"Don't be a smartass." She snapped, couldn't he see how hard this was for her? How she was willingly putting herself in this position for his benefit? "Don't you see what I'm getting at? I _like_ you. That means I _care_ about you. You are _important_ to me, _so important_ that I'm here telling you this out loud against my better judgment and I don't understand how could you, after all this time, possibly remain oblivious to it; how could you doubt, even for an instant, that I give a damn about you, a whole bunch of them at that." She was getting worked up despite the fact she had sworn herself that she would remain cool, "I won't have you think I don't genuinely care. I hate the feeling I get when you look disappointed in me. I'm sure I can give you a number of other reasons to put that look you gave me earlier on your face, but this won't be one. So don't doubt it, don't question my feelings for you."

His azure eyes widened in shock. Well, fuck his nerves, his knees almost gave up on him as the flow of emotion that overcame him caught him off guard. That, right there, was Rika's oral version of _I love you._ He discovered, in that moment, that as much as he thought he would like to hear those words, he was happy with this, and glad she didn't just spit out words of affection lightly, as other people did. Because when Rika Nonaka said something like this, you believed it. There was no room for doubt. No room for questions.

She continued, face flushed with emotion "Just because I don't say it often—"

"I am sure this is the first time you say it at all."

"Whatever. You should know and it pisses me off when you act as if you didn't, and I say _act _because I know you know, and if you really don't then you don't know me at all and you're an idiot, in which case—"

"Rika—"

"Do you want me to say it? Do you want me to say I love you? Is that what you need to believe me?" she asked, moving in on him angrily and pointing her finger accusingly at his chest.

"No, I don't." He answered. Not if she wasn't ready. Not when it wasn't really needed. Not when she had already conveyed and confirmed those feelings in her own particular way.

She looked shocked for an instant before digging her finger into his chest "Good, because I won't say it."

"_Good_." He wrapped his hand gently around the finger she was jabbing at him "I don't doubt you, Rika. We wouldn't be together if I believed you didn't care, we wouldn't have lasted this long."

She felt relieved but kept a hard demeanor "Well, great. I'm glad to hear that."

"Did you really believe I thought otherwise? Because of a single look I gave you?" She never ceased to surprise him. He thought better not to bring up the real reason of the look, it would only cause an argument they didn't have the time for. And why ruin the moment now? He would patiently teach her to be proud of herself, of her emotions. He made a mental note to be more careful. He didn't want to hurt or upset her without even realizing it. If she hadn't decided to bring it up now she could have been dwelling on it for God knows how long and he probably wouldn't have had a clue.

"I just wanted to set you straight, is all. It was bothering me." She couldn't believe she had put herself in this situation, "You better not get cocky."

"I wouldn't dare." He smiled.

She didn't look convinced and freeing her hand from his, shrugged "Well then, we should go now."

It was his time to pull her back, "Wait."

She looked up at him and her lavender eyes widened as he leaned in until their lips were almost touching, he smirked as he saw how much effort she was putting into not fleeing. They had kissed before but she remained wary when the others were around, even if they knew about their relationship now. He finally touched his nose to hers and in a quick move that shocked both of them touched his lips quickly to her forehead instead. He tried to suppress a laugh at the quick disappointed look on her face and thought it was small payback for what she had just put him through, as good as the outcome had been.

Rika gaped at him before clenching a fist and finally making him laugh at her evident irritation.

"Don't worry, there's no one else around."

"That's not—forget it." Damn if she hadn't secretly wished for that kiss. "Anyway, let's get going before your boyfriend freaks out."

"Don't say that around him. He might believe it."

* * *

The rest of the group was already outside when Ryo and Rika joined them. Suzie stood next to Jeri, a small pout curving her lips as she held Lopmon tightly in her arms. Janyu, Robb and Yamaki were present as well. They had all formed a semi circle around a growing and bright light that was claiming a small area of the esplanade.

"Is everything alright, Rika?" Renamon asked as she went to stand next to her tamer.

The auburn haired nodded and glanced at Ryo, patting Monodramon's head. "Perfect."

"It seems they are all here and ready." Janyu said to Robb and Yamaki nodded.

"Alright then, be careful and try to stay in contact." The blond reminded them. "We will be keeping track of your steps as much as we can."

Henry gave his dad a nod and forced a small smiled before turning.

"Just walk into it. It's safe." Robb put in.

Takato looked back and giving one last reassuring glance at Jeri he led the way with Guilmon. Soon the rest followed.

Janyu watched as they were consumed by the light before a movement at his side caught his attention.

"No, wait!"

"Don't!" He heard Robb's voice but could only watch helplessly as Suzie dashed after the others, Jeri stumbling behind her as she screamed at her to stop. The brunette managed to grab the girl's arm just before she could step into the light, but it was too late. The light stretched out to them, as if claiming a personal possession, before engulfing them as it had the others and disappearing abruptly.

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Dolce S- I am sorry I took my sweet time to update, I have to admit it is one of my biggest problems. I always take forever. Don't worry, I won't abandon this story even if I take a couple of months to update. I already have most of the plot worked out and like 90+ pages of ideas written down which just need to be shaped into a coherent story format, haha. Thank you very much to those who took the time to read and review the first chapter, I really appreciate your kind words.

Waterflower20- Wow, oh my God, I don't know whether to be embarrassed or flattered, I mean, I can't read older drafts of this story without wincing and wanting to put my head through the wall in shame. I really hope you're liking this version, I will follow the same plot of course but I'm trying to add more detail and depth to it. I guess you're spoiled for a couple of chapters to come but I'll still try to surprise you.


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